My husband requested tacos for dinner this week. I had seen a lot of recipes for lentil taco “meat” while browsing vegan recipes but I had never tried one before. He told me that the tacos were his idea but the filling decision was up to me, so I decided to go for it. I used a whole bag of dried lentils and we ended up having enough for the two of us and our toddler to have this for dinner 3 nights in a row! The first night my husband had 6 tacos, so I think they were a hit!

Set the Instant Pot or pressure cooker to sauté mode. Add the olive oil and when it is heated, sauté the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent.

Turn off the pressure cooker. Stir in the lentils, salsa, and water or broth.

Close the lid and turn the vent to sealing. Use the manual pressure cooker mode and set the timer for 15 minutes. If you are using sautéed veggies as a topping, you may want to cook them now while the lentils are cooking.

When the 15 minutes is over, place a towel over the vent and turn to “venting” for a quick release of the pressure.

When all of the pressure is released, open the lid and stir. If there is still some liquid, the lentils will absorb it.

Place the lentil mixture in a tortilla of your choice, add toppings, and enjoy!

I love my pressure cooker! I can use one pot to cook a whole meal and just close the lid, lock it, and go play with my son until dinner is ready. I don’t have to stir anything or watch for water to boil.

My husband loves soup and he has been working hard so I decided to make him a big pot of vegetable soup this week. I used mushrooms, white beans, peas, carrots, and chickpeas, but you can change the ingredients as much as you want. I also used garlic-flavored vegetable broth. If you use regular broth, you may want to add garlic to the recipe.

Here is the recipe:

Pressure Cooker Vegetable Soup

Ingredients:

1/2 white onion, diced

1/2 green bell pepper, diced

1/2 red bell pepper, diced

1 stalk celery, chopped

2-3 TBSP olive oil

12oz white mushrooms, sliced

1 can (15oz) white beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (15oz) chickpeas, rinsed and drained

1 can (14oz) diced tomatoes

1 bag frozen peas and diced carrots

6 cups vegetable broth

1 tsp Italian seasoning

Directions:

Add olive oil, onion, peppers, and celery to the pressure cooker. Set to sauté. Sauté until the onion is translucent.

We have been traveling the past few weeks, so when we have had a few days at home, I’ve been trying to make simple but healthy meals for my family, such as beans and rice or pasta with veggies. We are finally getting to stay home for a while now so it was time to find a new recipe! We’ve had a box of pre-cooked lasagna noodles in the pantry for a few months, and it inspired me to try a new lasagna recipe. My husband tends to have reflux after acidic foods like tomato sauce, so this white sauce was a welcome change. There are so many ways to use cauliflower!

While onion and garlic are cooking, steam cauliflower. I used 2 bags of frozen, steam-in-bag cauliflower. I steamed it in the microwave and used the first and half of the second bag.

When cauliflower is done, place it in a blender. Add half of the onion and garlic mixture. Add water in 1/4 cup increments and blend until the cauliflower reaches the desired consistency. Add salt and pepper and blend again.

Add the remaining oil and sauté the mushrooms with the leftover onion and garlic. Cook until the mushrooms soften.

Coat the bottom of a 9×9 baking dish with the cauliflower sauce. Add a layer of noodles, then mushroom mixture, and more sauce.

Repeat process with a layer of noodles, more mushrooms, and more sauce.

Add a layer of noodles and cover with the remaining cauliflower sauce.

Cover and bake for 30 minutes. If using mozzarella, sprinkle on top and continue to bake uncovered for 5-10 minutes. (Note: We had leftover veggies and noodles, so I made a second 9×9 dish using tomato sauce. If I had used more of the cauliflower to make more sauce I could have had one large baking dish, but I ran out of space in the blender.)

My husband and I have been trying to get back to running consistently to train for races in the fall. Getting our distance back up definitely makes us crave protein and healthy carbs. This is a perfect meal for refueling after a tough workout!

I used two 8×8 pans to make this. Even though cooking is fun, I love to have leftovers to take the pressure off of coming up with something to make the next day! This recipe will give you 6-8 meals. We had leftovers of the black bean mixture too, even after the two pans were filled. It would go perfectly with rice or quinoa for lunch.

Here’s the recipe:

Enchilada Lasagna

Ingredients:

2 TBSP olive oil

3 cloves garlic, minced

12oz sliced mushrooms

1/2 white onion, sliced

1 green bell pepper, sliced

1 red bell pepper, sliced

1 bag frozen yellow corn

1 can Rotel tomatoes and chilies, drained

2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained

1/2 tsp chili powder

1 tsp fajita seasoning

2 cans refried beans, drained

1/2 cup salsa

2 cans enchilada sauce

1 small can sliced black olives

18 small corn tortillas

Optional toppings: avocado, vegan cheese, vegan sour cream

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375.

Sauté the garlic and mushrooms in the olive oil until the mushrooms soften. Add the onion and peppers and sauté until softened and onion is translucent.

Add the corn and stir often until the corn is cooked, about 5 minutes. Add the black beans and Rotel.

Stir in fajita seasoning and chili powder.

Mix the refried beans with the salsa in a medium bowl.

Spray two 8×8 pans with cooking spray or coat with olive oil. Cover the bottom with a layer of tortillas.

Add refried bean mixture over tortillas. Top with the black bean mixture. Add another layer of tortillas, refried beans, and black bean mixture.

Add a third layer of tortillas on top. Pour enchilada sauce over the tortillas and top with olives.

This recipe has become a regular in our monthly rotation. The burgers are easy to make and the ingredients are very inexpensive. If we are hungry, my husband and I each have 2 burgers per meal, but this recipe makes 8 large burgers, so we can look forward to having them again the next day! Our son loves them too. We usually make these pinto beans but you can use any type of bean that you want to or that you already have in your pantry.

Here is the recipe:

Pinto Bean & Oat Burgers

Ingredients:

1/2 medium yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

3 tbsp olive oil

4 cups cooked pinto beans or 2 cans pinto beans, rinsed and drained

2 cups rolled oats

1 tbsp ketchup

1 tbsp mustard

1 tsp soy sauce

1 tsp cumin

1 tsp chili powder

Directions:

Sauté onion and garlic 3-4 minutes, until onion is translucent. Set aside.

Rinse and drain the beans and mash them in a large bowl. Add oats, ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, onion mixture, and spices. Mix well.

Form into 8 patties and cook in olive oil, 3-4 minutes per side, until lightly browned.

The original enchilada rice recipe that I tried was made for a slow cooker. I used the slow cooker setting on my Instant Pot and cooked it for over 5 hours on the “normal” temperature setting, but the rice was still crunchy. My husband and I were hungry by that time so we still had some and it had great flavor. I will try making it with the Instant Pot again and add a slow cooker version of the recipe when I get it right!

I made a pot of rice separately the night before I made this, and cooked a pound of dry black beans in the Instant Pot. A can of black beans would work fine too. This recipe will make about 6 large servings.

At the bottom of this post I’m including information on the amazing nonstick skillets we recently found. They have helped so much with cooking meals like this one while using less oil to prevent sticking and burning. They’re really pretty too! If you are interested in supporting this blog, please consider using the link at the bottom of the page to make your Amazon purchases.

Here is the recipe:

Enchilada Rice

Ingredients:

4 cups cooked rice (I used Basmati)

6oz sliced mushrooms

1 TBSP olive oil

1 can diced tomatoes with chilies

1 can corn, drained and rinsed

2 cups cooked black beans or one 15oz can, drained and rinsed

2 10oz cans enchilada sauce

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1/4 tsp cumin

4oz vegan cream cheese

Optional toppings: vegan cheese, avocado, vegan sour cream, cilantro

Directions:

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the mushrooms and sauté until softened.

There are so many combinations that can be used to make a veggie burger. These chickpea & zucchini patties are perfect for the summer. They’re full of fiber and protein, and low in fat. They are satisfying but they won’t leave you feeling heavy. You can make them ahead of time and throw them on a grill at a summer cookout too!

Here’s the recipe:

Chickpea & Zucchini Patties

Ingredients:

2 (15oz) cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained

3 zucchini, washed, grated, and squeezed

1/3 cup flour

2 tbsp sriracha sauce

1 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp fajita seasoning

Cooking spray

Directions:

Wash and grate the zucchini. Remove seeds and squeeze out the liquid.

Rinse and drain the chickpeas, then mash them well in a large bowl. You can also place them in a blender or food processor.

In a large bowl, mix all of the ingredients (other than cooking spray) well. Form into 8 patties.

Spray a skillet with cooking spray and place on medium-high heat. Cook patties about 3-4 minutes per side, until lightly browned.

We cooked 4 patties the first night and refrigerated the rest before cooking. They will last at least 3-4 days in the fridge or they can be frozen for later.